Zynga brings Best Buy store into CityVille

Partnership promotes the electronics retailer right in front of the eyes of millions of social gamer

Zynga and Best Buy announced Wednesday that they have partnered on a new campaign to bring the electronics retailer directly into the most popular game on Facebook, CityVille.

Starting today and for one week only, gamers can place a digital version of a Best Buy store in their own city to collect (virtual) tech products like smartphones and TVs and unlock limited edition decorative items. The promotion is gamified, rewarding users with experience points, energy and game coins in exchange for completing the quest.

Visiting the Best Buy Facebook page also earns gamers decorative items to place inside their CityVille city.

"We're always looking for ways to make our games more realistic and personal for our players," said Ryan Linton, senior director of business development at Zynga. "This integration with Best Buy, coupled with roaming Geek Squad vehicles, creates a refreshing surprise for CityVille players. Our games allow players to connect with one another and express themselves, and we feel like we can do that better than any other form of entertainment."

Though this just-announced promotion ends next week, Zynga and Best Buy already have plans to run a similar campaign starting November 6, an early start to the holiday season.

This isn’t the first promotion of its kind for Zynga, as the company has partnered with both McDonald’s and Lady Gaga in the past to bring specially designed content into FarmVille. Furthermore, around the time of the pop diva’s promotion, Best Buy offered $25 Zynga game cards that came with a free download of Lady Gaga’s latest album, “Born This Way.”

CityVille, according to AppData, sees 14.5 million daily active users and 75.9 million monthly active users, the most for any application on Facebook’s platform. Trailing the game are Empires & Allies and Texas HoldEm Poker, two more Zynga titles.